Top 5 Supplements for the Gym

 

Introduction

 

While you can’t (nor should) replace a healthy diet with supplements, they help you reach your fitness goals faster.

 

We all live busy lives with tight schedules, trying to fit in all our obligations alongside our training and fitness goals. Those schedules make it super easy to slip, and nutrition is usually the first thing that suffers – you replace a healthy meal with something quick you can get at a supermarket or fast food nearby.

 

That’s where sports supplements come in handy.

 

This article will present you with the top 5 supplements for the gym. Whether you want to increase muscle mass, lose fat, improve training performance, or boost your immunity in general, supplements on our list can help.

 

Protein Powder

 

If you stimulate your muscles enough through weight training, they will grow while you recover. Muscle growth happens through the process of protein synthesis, making it obvious why proteins are important.

 

But, having a protein-rich diet is also an excellent option for losing fat too. Sufficient amounts of protein will ensure you retain or even increase muscle mass while losing weight. Additionally, proteins are very satiating, making you feel full for longer, and reducing cravings.

 

It’s recommended to intake 1.5-2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight if you want to optimize muscle building. So, if you weigh 85 kilograms (a bit less than 190 pounds), you will need to intake 127-187 grams of protein each day if you want to get the most out of your weight training.

 

While that’s not impossible to intake through food, if you spend most of your day outside, things can get tricky. That’s where good protein powders come into play to supplement nutrition.

 

Good quality protein isolates have 20-30 grams of protein per serving. That means with just three servings that will supplement each of your meals, you can add close to 100 grams of protein to your diet. Plus, because protein isolates contain very few calories from other sources, you will be able to control your total caloric intake.

 

Creatine

 

Creatine has been one of the most widely used and safest gym supplements on the market for decades. Athletes love creatine for many reasons, as it:

 

• Increases strength: supplementing with creatine will increase the amount of available ATP for our muscles. That means your muscles will have more energy at their disposal, which will mean you will be able to push extra hard while training.
• Enhances pumps and muscle size: creatine causes water to be retained in the muscles, and it also improves blood flow. That results in bigger pumps and larger muscles. What’s more, this effect is achieved very fast and is retained as long as you keep intaking creatine.
• Improves hypertrophy: because creatine increases strength, you will be able to train harder with more weight. That alone will result in bigger muscles, which will be further emphasized by bigger pumps and improved blood flow.
• Improves recovery: because creatine enhances the blood flow to the muscles, nutrients will be able to reach them more efficiently. At the same time, the waste will be disposed of more quickly, improving recovery overall.
• Has a reasonable price: even though creatine is more expensive than it used to be, it is still one of the most cost-effective supplements out there. All you need is 5 grams of creatine per day to get the most benefits, and its best form is also the cheapest one – creatine monohydrate. Therefore, if you are tight on cash, creatine is your best bet.

 

While creatine naturally occurs in foods such as red meat, salmon, tuna, and chicken, the amounts you get from these foods wouldn’t be sufficient to get the most benefits.

 

To eat five grams of creatine, you would have to eat a two pound stake. While that doesn’t seem impossible, doing that every day is likely to put you way over your desired caloric intake and can have many adverse effects on your overall health.

 

Additionally, people who don’t eat meat or animal products would find it extra hard to reach those desired five grams of creatine per day.

 

For those reasons, supplementing with creatine seems like the best option. You won’t need to eat pounds and pounds of beef each day in order to get five grams of creatine – one serving of creatine powder will do.

 

Omega-3 (Fish Oil)

 

Omega-3 fatty acids are not only good as gym supplements but are an excellent option for your overall health. People have been consuming fish oil to get them for generations due to their numerous benefits on:

 

• Cardiovascular health: omega-3s reduce the levels of triglycerides, thus reducing the chances of severe heart and brain problems such as heart attacks and strokes.
• Brain function: omega-3s help with memory, reduce the chances of memory loss, and aid in mood disorders and depression.
• Eye Health: omega-3s help with age-related macular degeneration but also with less serious but annoying conditions such as dry eyes.
• Anti-inflammatory and immunity-boosting properties: because omega-3s have a positive impact on immunity and help fight chronic inflammation, they are an excellent option for gym goers.

 

Besides fish oil, omega-3-rich foods are chia seeds, walnuts, and flaxseed oil. However, these foods are usually not the foundation of a typical Western diet, which is why many people are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids. For those reasons, it is a good idea to use quality omega-3 supplements.

 

BCAA (Branch Chain Amino Acids)

 

Branched-chain amino acids offer many benefits and can help you increase muscle mass, lose weight, increase energy levels and improve performance. These are leucine, isoleucine and valine.

 

While it’s important to intake all of the essential amino acids, leucine seems to be the one that is the most impactful on muscle growth, as it directly stimulates muscle protein synthesis.

 

BCAAs are naturally found in protein-rich foods such as chicken breast, beef, salmon, turkey, eggs, and cheese. However, just like with protein alone, it can be tricky to intake enough of them each day, especially if you intend to build as much muscle mass as possible.

 

As such, supplementing with BCAAs makes sense, as it will positively impact hypertrophy.

 

Vitamins and Minerals

 

Last on our list, we have vitamins and minerals. While on their own, they won’t do anything directly related to muscle building, they are an integral part of good health and strong immunity.

 

Being sick often will take you away from the gym, stalling your progress. Once you return, you will need to work on getting back into shape instead of making new progress. That’s like taking one step forward and two steps back – it’s better to work on improving your immunity if possible and work in avoiding being sick in the first place.

 

The best option is to intake vitamins and minerals through healthy foods. Here’s where to find vitamins and minerals:

 

• Water-soluble vitamins (C, B-group, folic acid) can be found in foods such as milk and dairy, fruits and vegetables, and grains.
• Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) are abundant in animal fats, vegetable oils, and fish.
• Minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, zinc, and iron, can be found in meat, fish, milk, cereals, fruits, and vegetables.

 

While it seems that it is pretty easy to intake vitamins and minerals, as most of us eat most of the foods from the list, the problem is quantity and variety. While most non-vegans certainly don’t lack meat in their diet, fruits and vegetables are a different story. It’s simply so much easier to eat a candy bar while on the go than to peel an orange.

 

For that reason, a multivitamin/multimineral is a good choice. You will intake an optimal daily amount of the necessary micronutrients each day, ensuring your organism has enough function healthily. This is especially important during the cold and flu seasons when your immunity is put under even more pressure.

 

Bottom Line

 

Protein powders, creatine, BCAAs, omega-3 acids, vitamins, and minerals are all well-known supplements that are there to aid your fitness journey and help you reach your goals faster while staying healthy.

 

But one thing has to be said – while they are effective, these gym supplements, just like gym clothing, won’t do anything on their own. You still need to train hard, eat well, and rest adequately. If you do that, the results will come – supplements will only make reaching them a bit easier.